Succubi Chapter 79. Speedo Mermen
Their heads were vaguely humanoid but stretched into elongated fins and gills, with sunken glowing eyes and gaping mouths that didn't close right. Sharp teeth. Glistening wet skin that shimmered under the dull gray lighting.
And worse?
Speedos.
Pink.
Neon green.
Stabilo yellow.
Every one of them had picked a different shade of highlighter shame.
[Merman]
[Level 10]
I cringed.
"Why…" I said slowly, blinking at the parade of aquatic humiliation, "do they all look like off-brand Baywatch extras?"
She grinned. "They're called Drowned Heralds. They are loyal. Efficient. And tragically stylish."
"They look like someone cursed a gym locker room and lost a bet."
She gave a lazy shrug. "You're weak. Don't take it personally. I just didn't want to waste my energy on someone beneath me."
"Oh no, please. Let the Speedo Squad handle it."
The six mermen snarled in unison, flexing like they were posing for a calendar titled Sea Daddy Summer.
I drew both daggers and sighed.
"Alright. Let's dance, neon sushi."
And Virelya?
She just stepped back.
Leaned against the air like it was a velvet throne, watching with a smirk as her sparkly seafood crew lunged at me with wet growls and aggressive protein powder energy.
I rolled my shoulders.
"Alright, boys," I muttered, daggers forming in my hands with a familiar, comforting hiss of shadow. "Let's make this quick. I've got trauma to unpack later."
The first one lunged—blue Speedo, green eyes, gills flaring—and I met him halfway.
[Shadow Blade – Dual Sword Form]
I dropped low, slashed up under his chin with the left blade.
[Damage Dealt: 91]
[Critical Hit!]
[Bleed Effect Applied]
He screeched and reeled back, flailing like he was mid-Zumba.
Another one—yellow Speedo—came at me from the right with a trident made of bone coral. I twisted, blocked with the flat of my left blade, and stabbed upward into his gut.
[Damage Dealt: 77]
[Damage Reflected: 42] (via cursed dagger passive)
Still not down. These guys were tankier than I thought. Must've been using demon protein powder with a side of abyssal creatine.
The third one grabbed me from behind.
Damp arms.
Strong grip.
And way too much cologne. Seriously, I gagged.
I reactivated Devil Armor on instinct.
Chains of black-red energy slammed around me, locking into plated hellsteel. The force of it blew the merman off me like he'd just licked a lightning socket.
[Damage Reflected: 53]
[Damage Taken: 11]
I spun, dashed in a wide arc, and let the cursed armor trail smoke and intimidation.
"Not a hugger," I growled.
Then they all came at once.
Two flanking. One leapt overhead. The remaining three circled like sharks in a mosh pit. I counted my breath.
Three.
Two.
One—
[Dark Orbs – Summon: 20]
A ring of violet-black orbs flared around me, spinning like a death carousel. One of the flanking mermen dove in—
-Boom!
[Damage Dealt: 82]
[AoE Pull – Successful]
[Secondary Target Caught]
The gravity pulse yanked another one straight into the blast radius. Both slammed into each other midair, cursed magic crackling through their grossly oiled muscles.
They hit the floor twitching.
Okay. Four left.
But they were smarter now.
They circled. No more wild rushes. They'd seen what I could do.
I dropped into a low stance. Let them move.
Pink Speedo came at me with a sudden burst of speed, faster than expected.
I ducked the punch and kicked his kneecap sideways.
[Damage Dealt: 42]
[Stagger Applied]
Then drove a blade into his shoulder and twisted.
[Damage Dealt: 102]
[Armor Pierced]
He shrieked and staggered back. I hit him with a follow-up slash to the chest and he finally went limp, collapsing with a wet thump.
Three left.
Virelya clapped softly from the sidelines. "Not bad. For a noob."
"Do your henchmen come with towels?" I snapped. "They're getting demon sweat all over my upgrade screen."
"You won't live long enough to clean it."
A green Speedo flew at me—shoulder check.
He hit my chest, but Devil Armor flared with a retaliatory burst.
[Damage Taken: 23]
[Damage Reflected: 65]
I spun, elbowed his face, then shoved a dagger straight into his collarbone.
[Damage Dealt: 88]
[Stun Applied]
Then twisted and threw him into the last two.
They all crashed together in a pile of gurgling fish-man agony.
I exhaled through my teeth.
One more time.
[Death Wave]
My foot slammed against the floor and the necrotic energy exploded outward like a sonic boom made of shadows and hate.
[Damage Dealt: 112 (each)]
[Status Effect: Life Drain Successful]
Their bodies twitched.
Convulsed.
Then shattered into glowing fragments of dissipating mana and leftover gym stench.
Silence.
Just for a second.
I stood there, hunched, breath heavy. Swords slick. Armor smoking.
Then the stats scrolled across my vision.
[Enemies Defeated: 6]
[Status: Stable]
I straightened slowly, chest rising and falling with the weight of it all.
Six enemies.
All Level 10.
I'd survived.
Not just survived—won.
And yeah, at first I wanted to brush it off, chalk it up to adrenaline and petty spite.
But then I remembered something.
That half-demon I fought in the restroom?
He was also Level 10.
And that guy had wrecked me.
Back then, I got slammed and knocked around. He moved like a blur, hit like a truck, and was smart enough to make it hurt emotionally too.
These guys?
They weren't exactly pushovers, but I didn't get dropped once. I took hits. I gave better ones. I read them.
And that hit me harder than any of their glistening abs.
Something had changed.
Maybe those seafood boils were henchmen. Maybe their class was under the half-demon's. Lower tier demons sent to flex and flail before the boss entered the room.
Or maybe…
Maybe it was me.
I glanced down at my hands. Flexed my fingers.
I didn't feel stronger. Not dramatically.
But when I replayed the fight in my head—every dash, every block, every read on their movement—I realized something had clicked.
I'd understood them.
Not just their patterns, but the rhythm of it. The pressure. The way their attacks followed a certain tempo. The moment they'd commit. The way they'd hesitate before a feint.
And maybe it wasn't conscious.
Maybe my brain was still spinning in panic while my body remembered everything from that last dimensional fight.
Muscle memory.
Instinct.
Experience.
Because demon Level 10 wasn't the same as mortal world Level 10. Their strength was denser. Their speed came with angles mortals didn't train for. It was like they fought with a rulebook I wasn't born with.
But now?
Maybe my body was starting to write its own chapter.
It wasn't just brute strength.
It was adaptation.
And somewhere in the middle of all this cursed chaos, I'd started evolving.
Great.
Terrifying.
But kind of awesome.
I wiped sweat from my forehead, already bruised and sore, but still standing.
I turned toward Virelya.
She wasn't smirking now.
Just watching.
Head tilted.
Legs crossed mid-air like the void gave her a personal chaise lounge.
"Well," I panted, lifting one blade toward her. "Still think I'm weak?"
She tapped a claw to her lip.
"No," she said. "But I do think you'll look gorgeous when you bleed."
Then she stood up.
Heels first. Like a queen rising for the execution.
And that smile?
It was back.
Sharper.
Wider.
"You survived the Heralds. Cute. But I'm not here to test you, darling."
She stepped forward, her aura swelling like a riptide.
"I'm here to break you."
Oh.
Oh great.
Boss fight part two.
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>Read 10 chapter ahead of this story.
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